MECHANISMS OF ATTENTIONAL CONTROL AND SUPPRESSION IN AGING

Abstract Attentional control plays a crucial role in our daily lives by allowing our brains to selectively process relevant information while filtering out task-irrelevant distractions. Due to aging, older adults have demonstrated a heightened propensity to be more distractible. This decreased ability to regulate attention has been attributed to an inability to inhibit task-irrelevant salient stimuli. However, the specific mechanisms that underlie this age-related alteration remain unclear. In this study, we utilized a visual search paradigm that directly measures mechanisms of attentional suppression to test our hypothesis that older adults demonstrate reduced capabilities to suppress task-irrelevant information. Young adults (aged 18-35) and older adults (aged 50-80) were tasked to utilize goal-directed attentional control by fixating at a specific target shape. Critically, in some trials, individuals were exposed to a salient color shape that acted as a singleton distractor. While young adults show the ability to suppress attentional allocation to this salient distractor in this paradigm, we hypothesized that older adults would demonstrate attentional capture by this salient distractor. Our findings revealed that older adults made significantly fewer first-fixations towards the target, demonstrating a marked impairment with goal-directed attentional control. Surprisingly, older adults still made fewer fixations toward the distractor in comparison to non-targets, demonstrating that older adults sustained the ability to suppress irrelevant distractors. These findings raise important questions on the mechanisms that underlie increased distractibility in aging and oculomotor attentional control.


FACTORS INFLUENCING COGNITIVE FUNCTION AMONG THE US OLDEST-OLDER ADULTS
Jung Yoen Son, and Janet Larson, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States Previous studies have identified factors that influence cognition in older adults (aged ≥ 65); however, the findings cannot be generalized to the oldest-old adults (aged ≥ 80), who face different physical and functional challenges.This study aimed to examine the association between potential influencing factors and cognitive function in communitydwelling oldest-older adults using the National Health Aging Trends Study (NHATS) dataset, a nationally representative sample from 2015.We conducted linear multilevel modeling (MLM) to examine the association between participation in physical activity (PA) and social activity, everyday technology use, mental health, and self-reported health with cognitive function (immediate and delayed word recall), adjusting for five sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education).A total of 2779 community-dwelling oldestold adults from the NHATS were included.Most of study participants were 80-84 years old (47%), female (61%), Non-Hispanic White (70%), not married (63%), and did not obtain a college degree (75%).In the MLM, participating in physical and social activities, using technology, and poorer mental health were significantly associated with higher word-recall scores (better cognitive function).Self-reported health was not associated with word recall.Results from our study suggest that interventions aimed at promoting physical and social activities and improving mental health may help maintain cognitive function among the oldest-old population.Our findings also suggest the potential positive impact of technology use on cognition, although further study is needed to support the evidence.mechanisms that underlie this age-related alteration remain unclear.In this study, we utilized a visual search paradigm that directly measures mechanisms of attentional suppression to test our hypothesis that older adults demonstrate reduced capabilities to suppress task-irrelevant information.Young adults (aged 18-35) and older adults (aged 50-80) were tasked to utilize goal-directed attentional control by fixating at a specific target shape.Critically, in some trials, individuals were exposed to a salient color shape that acted as a singleton distractor.While young adults show the ability to suppress attentional allocation to this salient distractor in this paradigm, we hypothesized that older adults would demonstrate attentional capture by this salient distractor.Our findings revealed that older adults made significantly fewer first-fixations towards the target, demonstrating a marked impairment with goal-directed attentional control.Surprisingly, older adults still made fewer fixations toward the distractor in comparison to non-targets, demonstrating that older adults sustained the ability to suppress irrelevant distractors.These findings raise important questions on the mechanisms that underlie increased distractibility in aging and oculomotor attentional control.

PROSPECTIVE EXPLORATION OF COMBINED INTERNALIZING SYMPTOMS ON SELF-REPORTED MEMORY DURING COVID-19
Dawn Carr, Natalie Sachs-Ericsson, Brad Schmidt, and Frederick Schubert, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States A growing literature suggests depression and anxiety increase risk of cognitive decline.However, few studies have examined their combined effects on cognition, among older adults, especially during periods of high stress.Based on a sample of community dwelling older adults (N=576), we evaluated the effects of pre-pandemic anxiety and depressive symptoms, obtained in September 2018, to changes in selfreported memory (SRM) assessed 3 months into the COVID-19 pandemic.In separate models we found participants with depression scores at least 1-SD above the mean and participants with anxiety scores at least 2-SD above the mean to report a significant decline in SRM.Moderation analyses revealed those with high depressive symptoms (at or above the mean) showed a decrease in SRM regardless of anxiety.The extent to which high pre-pandemic anxiety symptoms influenced SRM is dependent on whether pre-pandemic depression was at or above the mean.Pre-pandemic depression predicted a decline in SRM regardless of anxiety.Moderation analyses revealed that the extent to which anxiety symptoms influenced SRM was dependent on depression being at or above the mean.Those with high anxiety and depression are at highest risk of experiencing cognitive consequences related to stressful exposures like COVID-19.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.2627The COVID-19 pandemic is a major, chronic, worldwide stressor related to poorer health and well-being, especially among older adults, but less is known about risk and protective factors related to cognitive functioning during this stressful time.This eight-week study of 229 communitydwelling middle-aged and older adults (Mage=71.1;74% women) examined associations between the intensities of weekly stress and positive experiences on subjective cognitive functioning.We also examined how age and trait resilience modified these associations.Zero-inflated Poisson models revealed a positive association between the intensity of stress and self-reported cognitive difficulties (γ=0.34,SE=0.07), whereas the intensity of positive experiences was associated with fewer difficulties (γ=-0.09,SE=0.03).Age moderated the effect of stress (γ=-0.01,SE=0.002), with the old-old having more subjective cognitive difficulties under more intense stress than the young-old.Resilience modified effects of stress and positive experiences, respectively, on cognition (γ=0.04,SE=0.01 and γ=-0.01,SE=0.01).Those with lower resilience reported more cognitive difficulties under more intense compared to less intense stress; this association was slightly attenuated for people with more resilience.Similar associations emerged between resilience and positive experience intensity.Older age was a risk factor for subjective cognitive difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially under conditions of high weekly stress, whereas resilience was a protective factor.Although those high in resilience appeared to be more sensitive to cognitive difficulties during more intense positive experiences, they still reported fewer difficulties than those low in resilience.Older adults' cognitive resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic was heterogeneous and multifactorial.

RESILIENCE AND AGE MODIFY INFLUENCES OF STRESS AND POSITIVE EXPERIENCES ON SUBJECTIVE COGNITION
Abstract citation ID: igad104.2628

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
The COVID-19 pandemic has had myriad effects on health and well-being.Contracting the COVID-19 virus and concerns of social and physical consequences during pandemic-related restrictions have been proven to negatively impact health.To better understand possible effects of COVID-19 on Black community-dwelling older adults' perceived cognitive changes, we conducted a pilot study with 48 community-dwelling African Americans with measures obtained over 24 months from 10/2020 to 10/2022.Participants were recruited from the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology Healthier Black Elders Center, and Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and the general Detroit Area (Mage=73.07,Range=65-87 years).The Cognitive Change Index (CCI) was used as a self-report measure of perceived change over the last five years.The COVID Impact Survey (CIS) was used to assess the burden of COVID-19 on daily living.To evaluate Dakota Witzel 1 , Suzanne Segerstrom 2 , Maria Kurth 3 , Soyoung Choun 2 , Paris Crosby 4 , and Carolyn Aldwin 2 , 1.